Ring Road To Nowhere

[Kerplunk]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i don't understand why they moved that left turn lane so far up the road, what's the point? they've been screwing with that intersection for quite awhile now, and combined with the stoney trail construction it's made my daily commute more of a PITA. and yet after all that work i can't tell what the purpose is

I think for now they are doing work to widen the various roadways in preparation for the work to put in an overpass on 16th and 68th. When that goes in there will be no North or South access to 68th when going westbound into the city.

[CRXguy]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Ah, I see... damn those funky Engineers that have merge lanes merge into a merge lane before a merge lane.

Yeah, that's what I meant to say but didn't know how to type it out without confusing everyone, including myself.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Jedi Ninja

^ I really can't see 14th or McLeod being used, but at the same time, I think people's expectations need to be taken down a few notches. I've heard people speculate about an 8 lane superhighway up 37th and 200+ homes being demolished. Consider, perhaps, that what we might end up with is 2 lanes in each direction, minimal number of homes demolished, and an interchange at Glenmore that is on the modest scale of Glenmore & Crowchild.

Well, around 70 homes will have to be demolished along 37th if they just take out the ones currently on 37th. With no room on the west side of the current road for anything other then putting up barriers or maybe making a shoulder (and the odd checkpoint to make sure the natives aren't up to no good), I am guessing there will have to be 2 layers of housing removed in some portions just to bring in the construction equipment, just to make it 4 "freeway" lanes wide from the current 2 "thoroughofare" lanes, and anything more than that, would mean more houses. I think 100+ houses are gone with a barebones route...and it doesn't make sense to go barebones if you're already using resources and dirsuption in this major project.

Also, isn't this road going to be part of the North American transportation co-oridor? What is necessary? Lanes? Speed? Just as Deerfoot had lights removed so it could qualify for that designation, and the majority of the newly built north section has multiple lanes and a 90km speed limit, it may not even allow the SW portion to have an 80km, 4 skinny lane wide road, and may need to be more than 4 lanes and/or 80km speed limit.

Practically, it also doesn't make sense to turn 37th into a bottleneck long term.

[SteveToms]

I still think they need to just block access to the casino for a week and force the natives hands, then build a proper ring road.

[Jedi Ninja]

Transportation Minister Luc Ouellette said over the weekend that his department is looking at a speed limit of 80 kilometres an hour as a way to build the ring road along 37th Street S.W. The normal highway speed in Alberta is 110 km/h.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier said reducing the speed would mean the province would demolish fewer houses in the Lakeview and Glamorgan neighbourhoods to make way for the road. The higher the speed limit on a highway, the more land required.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/sto...eed-limit.html

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Kerplunk

I think for now they are doing work to widen the various roadways in preparation for the work to put in an overpass on 16th and 68th. When that goes in there will be no North or South access to 68th when going westbound into the city.

are they actually putting an overpass there? i just can't see how it'd fit, with the shopping center and all that residential area crammed in there

[GreenLantern]

It was weird we were driving around, and we missed the turn for the mall.. so we get off the #2 which turns into Deerfoot I believe? And it is just nuts traffic on that road, we exit off on to that ring road and there is like two cars.

I like the traffic though, not the fact there are so many cars but the fact there are so many cars that know where to be and want to get where they are going. Saskatoon.. or Saskatchewan in general, does not have that.. everyone does 70 in both lanes on the freeway and 30-40 in 50 zones. Frustrating place to drive. Calgary was more hectic, but I would much rather have that.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

are they actually putting an overpass there? i just can't see how it'd fit, with the shopping center and all that residential area crammed in there

They are supposed to be putting an overpass there. There is some space but not a lot. I saw some proposals on the city site at one time and none of them were simple.

[mykalberta]

Does the SW portion of the ring road really need to be as seamless as the North part - is there really alot of traffic clogging Calgary streets that comes from the South and goes to the West?

I agree the residents there need something, but I think they can get away with it because the detour traffic that road would need would be pretty low, no?

[Shazam]

I'd love to see Macleod Trail expanded. That would take a ton of traffic off Deerfoot from those wretched souls that live in the "deep" SW.

[Madman]

The planned 1 lane expansion of 14 St from 90th to Anderson has been scrapped because some "drivers" wanted more than an extra lane.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alber...94426-sun.html

Like, WTF is with people. The City see and hears about congestion on 14th street, so they assess the problem and actually agree to do something. Then they secure the funds and are ready to go on what looks like a no brainer project, but then it turns out that simply isn't good enough for some people.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Madman

The planned 1 lane expansion of 14 St from 90th to Anderson has been scrapped because some "drivers" wanted more than an extra lane.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alber...94426-sun.html

Like, WTF is with people. The City see and hears about congestion on 14th street, so they assess the problem and actually agree to do something. Then they secure the funds and are ready to go on what looks like a no brainer project, but then it turns out that simply isn't good enough for some people.

WTF is with the city decision to scrap it? What are they, parents punishing children? As if there needed to be a consultation to figure out that that stretch of road desperately needs to be widened. Then they hear a couple of complaints and they decided to "turn the car around and go home"?


Oh, and I totally agree, MYK. The SW portion does not really need to be as highway-esque as the north portion. The north portion is perfect for the E/W traffic that is just passing through. They'll bounce off 16th ave, onto stoney, avoid the city, and hit 16th again on the other side. If they need gas, they can hit the Petro just past the city limits.
The SW portion will not really serv any external purpose except for maybe people from Cochrane going to the #2 south. It'll mainly ease the ridiculous congestion on 37th/Glemnore, McLeod Tr., and 14th St.

[CrusaderPi]

This thread has been active for 8 months and only now do I fully appreciate the title.

"Ring Road To Nowhere"

I love it!

[Shazam]

I guarantee you that this is a political decision, and the "people didn't want it" is just an excuse.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by browna

Also, isn't this road going to be part of the North American transportation co-oridor? What is necessary? Lanes? Speed? Just as Deerfoot had lights removed so it could qualify for that designation, and the majority of the newly built north section has multiple lanes and a 90km speed limit, it may not even allow the SW portion to have an 80km, 4 skinny lane wide road, and may need to be more than 4 lanes and/or 80km speed limit.

I believe it is not. At least not part of the Canamex system. Only Deerfoot is. Likewise, in Edmonton, only the SW part of Anthony Henday is part of that system - just to get you from Hwy 2 to Hwy 16 west.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Shazam

I guarantee you that this is a political decision, and the "people didn't want it" is just an excuse.

Hmmm, that suddenly freed up $20 million just paid for the majority of the new Deerfoot-Glenmore interchange....

[Madman]

Making an exception for the SW leg to be 80km/h is the worst idea possible.

Where do the concessions stop just to make it have the least amount of impact then?

Are there lights all the way along in order to save some cash and potential impact on some houses? Are there ground level pedestrian crosswalks? Maybe some pretty flower planters to ease the impact on some communities? This is a very dangerous decision they are making.

Would making a 110km/h freeway down 37th be a massively huge impact? No friggin doubt. Is it worth it to eat the full pain of that growth right now as opposed to 10 years in the future when everyone is complaining about the bag full of dicks 80km/h zone in Calgary's ring road? Abso-funking-lutelty.

[Jedi Ninja]

Originally Posted by Madman

Making an exception for the SW leg to be 80km/h is the worst idea possible.

Where do the concessions stop just to make it have the least amount of impact then?

Are there lights all the way along in order to save some cash and potential impact on some houses? Are there ground level pedestrian crosswalks? Maybe some pretty flower planters to ease the impact on some communities? This is a very dangerous decision they are making.

Would making a 110km/h freeway down 37th be a massively huge impact? No friggin doubt. Is it worth it to eat the full pain of that growth right now as opposed to 10 years in the future when everyone is complaining about the bag full of dicks 80km/h zone in Calgary's ring road? Abso-funking-lutelty.

Exactly where do you draw the line on cost and destruction of existing neighbourhoods and degredation of parks/natural spaces?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Jedi Ninja

Exactly where do you draw the line on cost and destruction of existing neighbourhoods and degredation of parks/natural spaces?

Even if he does, he has a point. The 201 is supposed to be a full freeway. Half assing it now makes no sense whatsoever.

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Does the SW portion of the ring road really need to be as seamless as the North part - is there really alot of traffic clogging Calgary streets that comes from the South and goes to the West?

I agree the residents there need something, but I think they can get away with it because the detour traffic that road would need would be pretty low, no?

I don't think we need the originally planned 16-lane superhighway (through residential areas) for the SW ring road - this is a more reasonable option. If they widen Highway 22/22X, traffic going from the west to south can bypass the city that way, and we can instead focus on options that improve rush hour commuting in the southwest. An 80 km/h road with 2-3 lanes each way would be fine for that IMO, so long as it doesn't have too many traffic lights (it would need interchanges at 37th St, 69th St and Stoney Trail for sure).